The Rino 130 is the most feature-rich unit in the Rino family, with a built-in electronic compass, barometric sensor, weather receiver for seven NOAA weather channels, and 24 MBs of internal memory. This handheld radio has a built-in electronic compass to give a heading while the user is standing still, and a barometric altimeter to provide extremely accurate elevation and pressure information, which will assist users in identifying weather data.The Rino 130 provides two-way radio communication with a transmission range of up to two miles using FRS channels and up to five miles with GMRS. The integration of two-way radio and GPS enables users to transmit their position with a simple button press, allowing others to navigate to their position. The Rino 130 also has a polling feature, which allows a user to manually request GPS location information from other Rino units.

The the most feature-rich device in the Rino family, Garmin's Rino 130 (bilingual edition) 2-way FRS/GMRS radio and GPS receiver comes fully loaded with an electronic compass, a barometric sensor, a weather receiver for 7 NOAA weather channels, and 24 MB of internal memory for downloading and storing MapSource detail--including data from products like U.S. Topo 24K, U.S. Topo, Recreational Lakes, BlueChart, and MetroGuide (MapSource products sold separately). The Rino 130 is also outfitted with a marine-point database and a basemap of North and South America. The database includes nautical navaids for North and South America. The Americas Highway basemap includes the United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and Central and South America, and covers an area from W180 to W30 Longitude and S60 to N75 Latitude. Also included is a high-level worldwide map with political boundaries and major cities. Among many other included elements are oceans, rivers, and lakes (greater than 30 square miles), principal cities and many smaller cities and towns, major interstates and principal highways, and political boundaries (state and international borders). The Rino 130 also offers 10,000 tracklogs versus 2,048 with the Rino 120. The 130 also comes ready with a massive 24 MB of memory unlike the Rino 120 with 8MB. Lastly the 130 shines with the very useful electronic compass, altimeter, glide ratio, glide ratio to destination, and vertical speed to destination features that the Rino 120 lacks.
Integration has its advantages: the Rino 130 sends and receives GPS locations using FRS channels and shows them on the map. The GPS device is a 12-channel, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver. WAAS, which stands for Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), is the global-positioning-system of choice for mariners. The handheld's built-in electronic compass give a heading while you're standing still, and its barometric altimeter provides accurate elevation and pressure readings to help you identify and analyze weather conditions.

The Rino 130 also provides two-way radio communication with a transmission range of up to two miles using FRS channels and up to five miles with GMRS (be aware that use of GMRS requires an FCC license). The integration of two-way radio and GPS lets you transmit your position with a simple button press, so others can easily navigate to your position. The Rino 130 also has a polling feature so you can manually request GPS location information from other Rino units.

You get 14 FRS channels, 8 GMRS channels, and 8 GMRS repeater channels, as well as 38 sub-audible squelch codes per transmission channel for semi-private radio communications.

The unit's ergonomic design grants single-handed operation, with its Call, Page mode, and Press-To-Talk (PTT) buttons mounted on the side, Power/Backlighting button on top, Volume and Zoom buttons on front, and a Thumb Stick positioned in the center. The thumb stick allows channel selection and volume adjustment in FRS/GMRS mode, as well as quick map panning, enter, and selection functions in GPS mode.

Other features include a backlit display (160 x 160 pixels), external voice activation (VOX), waterproof construction to IPX-7 standards (immersible in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes), storage for up to 500 waypoints with graphic identification and 20 reversible routes, 10,000 trackpoints and up to 20 saved tracks to retrace your path or a companion's path via the location-reporting feature, trip computer with speed tracking, sunrise/sunset read out, trip time, and trip distance, and multiple grid formats including MGRS and Loran TD. The Rino 130 even sends and receives short text notes for quiet communication.

The Rino 130 has a battery life of 14 hours (typical use) on 3 AA alkaline batteries (not included).

The WAAS difference
WAAS is a system of satellites and ground stations that provide GPS signal corrections, giving you even better position accuracy. How much better? Try an average of up to five times better. A WAAS-capable receiver can give you a position accuracy of better than three meters 95 percent of the time. And you don't have to purchase additional receiving equipment or pay service fees to utilize WAAS.

How it Works
WAAS consists of approximately 25 ground reference stations positioned across the United States that monitor GPS satellite data. Two master stations, located on either coast, collect data from the reference stations and create a GPS correction message. This correction accounts for GPS satellite orbit and clock drift plus signal delays caused by the atmosphere and ionosphere. The corrected differential message is then broadcast through one of two geostationary satellites, or satellites with a fixed position over the equator. The information is compatible with the basic GPS signal structure, which means any WAAS-enabled GPS receiver can read the signal.

Who benefits from WAAS?
Currently, WAAS satellite coverage is only available in North America. There are no ground reference stations in South America, so even though GPS users there can receive WAAS, the signal has not been corrected and thus would not improve the accuracy of their unit. For some users in the U.S., the position of the satellites over the equator makes it difficult to receive the signals when trees or mountains obstruct the view of the horizon. WAAS signal reception is ideal for open land and marine applications. WAAS provides extended coverage both inland and offshore compared to the land-based DGPS (differential GPS) system. Another benefit of WAAS is that it does not require additional receiving equipment, while DGPS does.

Includes: Rino 130 receiver, a PC-interface cable, a wrist strap, a belt clip, a user's manual, and a quick-reference guide.

Expensive, somewhat durable, short battery life, had some compatibility issues

I carried a GPS and a two-way radio around a lot when I did a bunch of solo work out in the woods. I became mindful of the extra weight and need to carry extra batteries when many times I would rarely use either one. I also had problems using my radios in wet environments. I knew the Rino was about the only waterproof radio on the market so I watch and waited for them to become available and finally snatched one up. I chose the 130 for the weather band and some other features. I have been generally pleased with the unit and wouldn't mind a second for my wife. I've taken it in some pretty harsh environments and it's held up. I got water in the battery case somehow and had to clean it out but it's fine. I'll watch it closer. It's good for an accidental splash but I wouldn't push your luck on swimming with it.

I dropped it once and the battery cover broke but Garmin sent me a new one. The rubber latex grip is peeling but it's not too bad. I purchased TopoUSA and added it to my Rino and it's made a big difference. Any serious outdoor person should expect to do the same. I primarily use it for environmental field work and it's great for communication with partners and establishing accurate locations. It's very user-friendly but it has so many functions it can take a while to get to know it inside and out. I would highly recommend it to anyone needing a serious unit. Battery life is marginal and they're not cheap.